If you look through Oliver Ames’ official score sheets from this season, you’re only going to see #26 a couple of times in the scoring column.
But when you find the opponent’s best player during a game, you can be rest assured Oliver Ames’ #26 will likely be right by his side.
#26 is freshman Nathaniel Cardoza, who has played every game and nearly every minute of the season so far for the Tigers and has been a big reason why OA can call themselves D2 South Sectional Champions for the first time in program history.
“He’s one of our unsung heroes,” OA head coach John Barata said Wednesday evening ahead of the Tigers’ D2 State Championship against Corcord-Carlisle.
Cardoza has bounced around all over the field. He’s played sweeper, outside back, outside mid and has even spent some time in the center mid spot.
“He hasn’t gotten any press or any accolades but he’s been the best freshman, in my opinion, in the league without stats,” Barata said after the Tigers win over Hingham. “He’s consistent and he’s versatile - he can go forward, he can play defense.”
That versatility has been key particularly in the last couple of games during the Tigers’ playoff run. In the D2 South Semifinals, about 10 minutes into the game, Cardoza was switched from his outside mid spot to mark against Pembroke senior Jacob Higgins.
In the beginning of the game, Higgins had orchestrated Pembroke’s attack and gave the Titans the early advantage. But after the switch, Cardoza shut down the senior and Oliver Ames went on to shut out Pembroke.
“They were fast, quick, but once we stopped [Pembroke's Jacob Higgins] with the adjustment of [Nathaniel] Cardoza covering, then we were able to play,” Barata relayed after the semifinals. “That adjustment helped us a lot."
On Tuesday evening in the D2 South Finals, Cardoza alternated who he marked. He started in his normal outside midfield spot, but quickly was tasked with marking sophomore Owen Murray and senior Aidan Ryan.
“I just know that I have to shut that person down,” Cardoza said after the sectional finals. “If they get opportunities, I have to stop it, that’s all I think about.”
It wasn’t an easy task to alternate between the two. Murray played centrally and was more technical with the ball at his feet. Ryan had a burst of speed and played wide.
“If the player’s really technical, I just contain him, but if he has some speed, I’ll give him some depth so when he pushes the ball, I can step,” Cardoza.
It’s much harder to defend than Cardoza makes it sound, but admittedly, he makes it look easy on the field as well.
“I knew Cardoza would be an outstanding player,” Barata said of what he expected with Cardoza come in as a freshman. “He is going to be one of the Hock’s best players, in my opinion. It won’t be as a leader point guy but I expect him to be a great player. I didn’t expect him to have such an impact in his first year but he’s shown some maturity and I’m very proud of him for stepping into that role.”
Cardoza isn’t limited to just marking a single player too. As evidence, he plays a good chunk of minutes of the wing and has the ability to get forward and back.
“In a moment like this where you can have a player like that and he can do all the dirty work and then he was excellent off the ball, he was able to get the ball in transition,” Barata said after the 1-0 win over Hingham. “It was special for us tonight.”
The task will only be tougher for the freshman come tonight when the Tigers take on nationally ranked Concord-Carlisle in the D2 State Title game. The game is set for a 7:30 kickoff at Marshfield High.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.